Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

It snowed a whole 3 inches in D.C. today, and it was my excuse to make some American comfort food: grilled cheese & tomato soup. Though I grew up in this country, my comfort food was more like menudo, chilaquiles, and bologna/cheese, etc., so this was actually my first time having this combination.

No, I'm serious.

Actually it didn't sound like a good combo to me, but while I was eating it today, I see why it's an American favorite. The tomato soup was creamy, hearty, and actually somewhat filling. Grilled cheese is grilled cheese - you just can't go wrong with it. I added tomato to the sandwich during the "grilling" and dunked it into the soup while eating... quite good.

Tomato Soup
I used cans of Campbell's condensed tomato soup but substituted the water for milk. I added lots of pepper while cooking and used some more for garnish. Before pouring into the bowl, I grated a tad of leftover colby-jack cheese from my enchilada adventure last weekend. Everything melted nicely to make a creamy soup. I added more freshly ground pepper on top. Gorgeous red soup with a dark topping made it a nice display next to burnt yellow sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese

I always buttered both sides of the bread, but this time I only did one side, the outside. I heated the pan, and placed the two slices of bread butter-side down. I placed a slice of muenster cheese on one slice and an American cheese single on the other. 30 seconds in, I placed a thinly sliced piece of tomato on one of the slices, closed it up, pressed down for another 20 seconds, and voila, tasty grilled cheese.